Payment card accounts such as credit card accounts and debit card accounts are in widespread use. In one conventional manner of accessing a payment card account, the account holder presents a plastic card at the point of sale in a retail store. The point of sale device reads account information from the card (e.g., via a magnetic stripe or through wireless communication with an integrated circuit in the card, or via electrical contacts on the card) and initiates a payment card account transaction using the information read from the card.
Many users of payment card accounts may have more than one such account. In some cases, card account holders may find it desirable to split a purchase transaction between two or more of their accounts. However, with the exception of some restaurants, retail establishments typically do not readily accommodate splitting of purchase transactions between payment card accounts. Moreover, even where a retailer does accommodate a split payment, the mechanics of implementing the transaction are likely to be somewhat cumbersome.
The present inventor has now recognized an opportunity for a highly convenient way to implement split payments using payment card accounts.